If it weren’t for Jacob Slavin making a pair of vital defensive plays in the final frame, Canada could’ve been celebrating at the end of regulation, but the Carolina blueliner was able to prevent Sidney Crosby wide-open chance thanks to a blind back-hand intervention before he stopped a two-on-one that involved McDavid later in the frame with a diving block.
Binnington was steady for the Canadians with 25 saves through regulation in the building where he won a Stanley Cup back in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, and the Canadian shot-stopper would have to come up clutch for his nation as we headed to overtime.
“I’ve heard it time and time again: Binner’s a winner. That’s ultimately what it is,” McDavid said. “He’s won a big game in this building before in 2019, so he’s played in big moments. The moment doesn’t get to him.”
Binnington absolutely robbed Auston Matthews when Jake Guentzel was alone below the Canada goal line to throw a pass onto his tape in front that needed the netminder to sprawl out and make a terrific blocker save just under three minutes into the five-on-five sudden-death period.
Just over a minute and a half later, Binnington denied Matthews again on a three-on-two opportunity before making a game-defining glove save on the rebound against Brady Tkachuk, allowing Canada to come up with the moment they needed that arrived 8:18 into overtime through McDavid.
“It was tight all over,” McDavid said. “Great players all over the ice playing great defence. It wasn’t great all night, but I thought we just stuck with it – our whole group. Binner was awesome. He made some amazing saves, especially there in early in overtime, and gave us a chance to go get one.”
“He made probably three or four all-world saves early in overtime, so all credit to him honestly. Hopefully some of those haters will back off him, because he played great.”
